Scars to Your Beautiful
by ladylibre
Summary: We all live with scars: some we choose; some were chosen for us. We can let our scars define us or we can let them make us stronger. And at Olympic Med, a place where their job is to save lives, two broken people come to find their salvation in each other, scars and all. An A/H Twistory loosely based on "Grey's Anatomy". **FULL STORY ON BITTERLADY PROFILE: only Ch01 is here**
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** This is a work of fiction for which we will receive no compensation, especially since all characters belong to a different Stephenie. But this story will help to save the babies, which we are all for.

**Writers:** BitterLady – separately BitterHarpy (Stephanie Smith Busbin) and ladylibre (Denise Leora Madre)

**Beta:** ladylibre

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**BitterHarpy (BH):** Hey y'all! ** waves ** And welcome to _Scars To Your Beautiful_!

**Ladylibre (LL): **We are CRAZY EXCITED...

**BH:** ... and also just crazy...

**LL: **... to bring you this story about the angsty goings on at Olympic Med Hospital! BH, darling, how would you describe our beloved Doctorward?

**BH:** The doctor is in... and he's one giant pain in the ass.

**LL:** True, but I've heard it's a really nice ass, so that makes it somewhat better for our poor Intern-ella.

**BH: **Yeah. ** sighs ** Somewhat.

**LL: **This story is BitterHarpy's brainchild, and I'm soooo stoked she let me write and ride along with her on this journey! The usual suspects are here...

**BH: **... though some are in unusual situations...

**LL: **... and we really hope you love this crazy crew as much as we do.

**BH: **Sending all the thanks to Maplestyle, our prereader, and MarieCarro for the gorgeous banners and manips.

**LL: **I totally second those emotions! ** hugs them both ** Also, many many thanks to the supporters/readers of the 2018 and 2019 BABES compilations. We shared the first eight chapters of _Scars_ in those collections – four in each – and your enthusiasm really kept us going. You wanna wrap this up, partner?

**BH: **That's what she said.

**LL: **** facepalms ** Walked right into that one, didn't I?

**BH: **That's what she... never mind. New chapters will post every Wednesday with a teaser in the BitterHarpy/BitterLady Facebook group every Tuesday. And uh, I know you'll have lots of questions as we go along, and I promise they will all be answered... eventually. ** grins evilly **

**LL: **Ooooh, I love her evil grins! And they are definitely appropriate for this story.

**BH:** I got nothing else. You?

**LL:** Ummm... yes! The first chapter will post on our individual profiles and our joint BitterLady profile. But the rest of the story will be posted to **BitterLady ****only**, so make sure you follow and favorite us there. Now I'm done.

**BH: **Then I guess there's only one thing left to say...

**BH & LL: **WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE STORY!

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**SCARS TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL**

**Chapter 1**

"Hey, you." Dr. Edward Cullen barked. "I need an intern."

Tyler Crowley didn't even acknowledge the hot-shot neurosurgery attending. Cullen had been at Olympic Med for over a year and still hadn't bothered to learn anyone's names or positions. He pissed off the nurses, badmouthed the residents, and tortured the interns. He was known around the hospital as "McBitchy," a catchy name coined by surgical intern Rosalie Hale. While Crowley didn't condone interns nicknaming upper-level doctors, he couldn't help but agree with Rose. Especially when he was the current object of Cullen's McBitchiness.

Maybe Cullen didn't pay enough attention to the hospital grapevine, but one didn't cross Dr. Crowley and live to tell about it. He had earned his reputation as the no-nonsense Chief of Residents at Olympic Med, and he wasn't about to let some cocky upstart with terrible manners disrespect him.

"Hey!" Edward repeated. "What are you, hearing-impaired?"

Tyler snorted without looking up from the file he was reading. "Oh, I just know he's not talking to me."

"I'm looking at you, aren't I? Or are you blind, too?" Edward stuck his hand in Tyler's face and waved it around. "Is that it?"

"And then he gonna put his hand in my face?" Crowley slammed the folder shut and whirled around so fast that Edward was forced to take a small step backward. From the wild look in Tyler's eyes, Edward didn't know if Tyler was about to have a seizure or an emotional breakdown.

Not that Edward cared one way or the other—he just needed a fucking intern.

"I am not dumb or blind, but I am about to lose my mind." Tyler didn't yell, but his clipped tone spoke volumes. "I am also an excellent surgeon with an impeccable reputation, practically a living legend around here. You are an overly gelled, overly confident, infuriating asshole of the highest order and currently tap dancing on my very last nerve. I don't know what's stuck up your ass and don't give a good damn, but you'd better have someone in Proctology fix it or I will fix it for you." He stepped closer to Cullen. "Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"

Edward heard muffled laughter behind him and realized they had an audience. His jaw tightened, his green eyes flashed, and he barely kept himself from whacking Crowley in the face with his clipboard.

"I am your boss," Edward ground out. "You know that, right?"

Tyler looked him up and down. "Bitch, please. You don't scare me. Now, did you need something? Cuz I don't have all day."

Edward took a deep breath. He would not kill this resident today, but he would talk to the Chief about him. If he remembered the idiot's name.

"I need… I would like an intern for the day…" Edward winced as he added, "Please."

"That's what I thought you said." Crowley smirked. "I'll see if I can spare one."

With that, Tyler walked... no, strutted away with a smug smile. No matter how many times some new person tried him, they all eventually realized that he was the undisputed queen of the surgical floor, and at some point, everybody had to bow down.

And if a metrosexual asshole with a bad attitude needed a personal lesson in etiquette... well, Tyler was just the man to teach him.

*****STYB*****

"I hope I have a kick-ass surgery today." Rose sighed as she opened her locker. "Yesterday I had to babysit the Bobbsey Twins down in the pit. And now I know why some animals eat their young."

Bella Swan chuckled and shook her head at her best friend. On the surface, Rose and Bella had little in common: where Rose was curvaceous, blonde, and larger than life, Bella was a petite and slim brunette. Both were brilliant, but Rose came off as a know-it-all and Bella seemed studious but plain. Everyone noticed—and often feared—Rose, and no one noticed Bella, but Bella liked it that way.

Couldn't disappoint people who didn't know you existed.

Thanks to her mother, the Great Esme Platt, Bella had learned long ago that she was a perpetual disappointment and a total waste of space. Her last attempt to be outgoing had resulted in the wrong kind of attention, so Bella began her internship at Olympic Med with the goal of fading into the background where no one could find her...

Just like she couldn't find her wallet that first day when it was time to pay for her lunch.

Feeling all kinds of embarrassed, Bella had planned to abandon her tray and go hide in an on-call room when Rosalie Hale had appeared at her side, offered to pay for her lunch, and suggested they sit together. Bella could only nod as the stunning blonde came to her rescue, and she joined Rose at the table in a speechless sort of wonder. As they ate and chatted about their first day so far, Rose broke through Bella's shyness and got her to smile a little... and laugh a lot. Bella had been so grateful (and surprised) to find such a good friend that she invited Rose to live with her in her mother's huge but lonely house. And they had been inseparable ever since.

"Yeah." Bella fiddled with her glasses. "I had round-the-clock colostomy bag changes yesterday, so a surgery would be nice."

"Bella, if you want surgeries, you have to put yourself out there, especially during rounds." Rose adjusted her perfect ponytail in her locker's mirror. "You are incredibly smart—not as smart as I am but a pretty solid runner-up."

Bella blushed as she always did when Rose praised her, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Thanks."

"But no one else knows how smart you are because you don't show them." She turned to face her friend with a soft but serious expression. "Stop dishonoring yourself like that."

"She's right—you do need to come out of your shell." Jacob Black walked into the locker room, leering at Bella as he sat on the bench. "And I can help you out of that shell and some other things if you want..."

"Hell no!" Rose slammed her locker door shut. "We don't need syphilis anywhere near our house, thank you very much."

Bella coughed to cover her quiet laughter, grateful once again for Rose's assistance. Jake was harmless but didn't know when to quit sometimes, so it was best not to let him get started.

The sound of raised voices filtered into the locker room, and Bella and Rose glanced at each other as Jasper Whitlock rushed through the door followed by a frustrated Alice Brandon.

"What do you mean you didn't get them?" Alice cried. "I left the money on the counter yesterday!"

"And I appreciate your contribution to my retirement fund, Roomie," Jasper said. "But I'm a man. I don't mess with girly stuff."

"Girly stuff? You didn't say that when you used the last of my Scent-sational body wash last week!"

"What, only girls can smell like roses and sunshine?" His boyish features dropped into a frown. "That's sexist."

"What's sexist is you not buying my tampons like I asked you to. Now I'll have to use the cheap ones in the Ladies Room." She flopped on the bench. "They are the worst!"

"Alice?" Bella called softly. "I... I have some in my locker you can use."

"Really? Thanks, Bella!" Alice gave her a gleaming grin that Bella couldn't help but return. "I really appreciate that, especially since some people can't be bothered to care."

Jasper started to reply, but Dr. Crowley chose that moment to barge into the locker room, snapping all the interns to attention. They could tell he was already pissed off and did not want to add to his ire.

Not if they valued their lives.

"Black, pit. Brandon, ortho. Whitlock, cardio. Hale, you're with me. And Swan..." Crowley gave her an apologetic half-smile. Bella closed her eyes, knowing what was coming. "You're in neuro. I'm sorry, but it's your turn to deal with him. And we had a little tete-a-tete earlier, so he's good and pissed off. Sorry."

"Great," she muttered.

"Oh, honey, look on the bright side!" Crowley almost smiled, which was kind of unnerving. "You're probably the last person who could piss him off more."

"Why would you say that?" she asked.

Crowley made a note on his clipboard. "Hard to be pissed at someone you barely notice."

Bella seemed to shrink even further. "Gee, thanks."

"Really, Dr. Crowley?" Jake whined. "The pit?"

The almost smile fell from Crowley's face as he turned to Jake. "I'm sorry, Dr. Black. Would you rather have Cullen?"

Last time Jake was with Cullen, he'd earned the honor of doing pre-op and post-op rectal exams on all the Neuro patients. He'd eat off the floor in the pit before going through that again.

"Um… no," Jake said aloud. "The pit is great… fun, even. Love the pit!"

"That's what I thought. Now go!"

The interns all practically ran out of the room. All except Bella, who looked up towards the heavens, and even though she wasn't even remotely religious, she figured it couldn't hurt to pray.

*****STYB*****

Bella adjusted her glasses and took a deep breath. She didn't know what it was about Edward Cullen that made her jittery, but he totally did. Maybe it was the fact that every time she was his intern, he insulted her appearance or claimed not to remember her name... no matter how many times she reminded him. Maybe it was the way he treated her like his servant-in-training, having her run mundane errands and fetch him coffee and lunch. Maybe it was the fact that he reminded Bella of her mother.

Whatever it was, Bella was stuck with him today and had to accept that this was going to be the day from hell. She took a minute to compose herself before approaching him.

"Dr. Cullen?"

He didn't even look up. "What?"

Bella took another deep breath. "I… um… I'm your intern today?"

"Doctors don't say 'um.' You want to be a surgeon, then you need to speak and act like one."

"Yes, sir. I'm very sorry about that, sir."

Edward finished signing his charts then frowned at her. "Are you new here?"

"No, sir. I've been here for six months, same as the others." She hid her frustration behind a tight smile. Did you have to be a goddess to get noticed around here? Was everyone really that superficial?

Or... could it be what Rose said? Did she really need to put herself out there more? Would that make people respect her?

"Whatever," Dr. Cullen snapped. "What's your name?"

"Dr. Swan, Sir." She informed him… for the fourth time this week.

"Okay, Swartz. I need you to prep Mrs. Wakefield in Room 3368 for her craniotomy, and while I'm in that surgery, I'll need to you to do the pre-op and post-op notes. And don't write sloppy—I need to be able to read them. When you are done with that, get me a pastrami on rye from that deli around the corner, no sauerkraut. I will take my lunch in the third-floor conference room. Oh, and have my dry cleaning picked up. Here's the ticket." He held it out to her. "Think you can handle that?

Bella blinked at him, her mind refusing to accept what he was saying. Was he serious with this?

"Hello?" He waved the blue ticket in her face. "Do you think you can handle that, Swab?"

Bella felt her temper flare up for the first time in a long while, and she took a silent deep breath before gently taking the dry-cleaning slip from his outstretched hand.

"Yeah." She barely kept the angry tremor from her voice. "I think I can handle that."

"See that you do." He checked his watch. "If you're done in less than four hours, you can scrub in with me on a DBS case. I am sure you will enjoy that, Swatt."

As he turned to walk away, she rolled her eyes and muttered, "It's Swan."

"I don't care what it is or who you are." He stepped into the elevator as it opened. "Just get it all done."

The elevator doors closed, and Bella was so frustrated she nearly balled up the dry-cleaning ticket. "Asshole," she muttered.

*****STYB*****

Four hours and five minutes later, a rather wilted Bella set Edward's pastrami sandwich in front of him and laid his dry cleaning on his spare office chair.

"Sorry, I couldn't find you." She wiped her damp forehead and tried to catch her breath. "Didn't you say you would be in the conference room?"

Edward leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and regarded her thoughtfully. She was an insignificant thing—about five-four with hair the color of mud. Her eyes were dwarfed by glasses too big for her face, and those oversized scrubs did her scant body no favors. She wore no makeup and looked like a sixteen-year-old virgin.

No matter how he looked at it, Edward had no use for her.

"Tell me, Doctor…"

"Swan," she said softly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Swan, right. If you can't manage to deliver my lunch on time, how can I trust you to assist me in surgery? I can't allow incompetence in my OR, so I think it best if you don't scrub in with me today. Another time, maybe, if you can prove yourself capable. You can catch up all my charts instead." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "That is all."

Bella stood there in shock. After running her all over the place like his little bitch, he wasn't even going to let her scrub in?

"Hello?! I would like to eat now." He unwrapped his sandwich. "Don't let the door hit your frumpy ass on the way out."

Bella turned and walked out his door, her small hands balling into fists at her side. She would not cry—not at work, not in public, and definitely not over this sexist, egotistical assbucket.

She would, however, let herself get angry. She had forgotten how good it felt to get angry, and the minute she got off work tonight, she would let herself remember.

And while she was at it, she would also remember how much she's missed tequila.

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**And we're off! See you next Wednesday on our BitterLady profile with Chapter 2. Thanks for reading! xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2 is live on BitterLady profile

**Hey, all!**

**As promised, Chapter 2 of "_Scars to Your Beautiful"_ has been posted to our joint profile, BitterLady, and all subsequent chapters will post there as well.**

**Thanks for all the support you've always given my solo efforts, and I hope you'll join me over at BitterLady for the rest of this story! XOXO**

**\- l****adylibre **


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